Moments in Kaleidoscope
by Kvothe of Many Talents
Summary: Basically, decided to post some ideas that I never got around to finishing. Most likely will remain one-shots.
1. Chapter 1

Ginny's lungs burned as she sucked in rapid, ragged breaths, her heart close to bursting as she pushed her legs to run faster than they ever had before. Tears blurred her eyes, causing her to slam into a wall as she tore around a corner. It cost her only a second, however, before she stumbled back into a sprint. Ginny ignored the pain in her shoulder; all that mattered was that she reached him before it was too late.

She raced through King's Cross station until she came to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Without any hesitation, she charged through the false wall at full speed and staggered to a stop on platform nine and three-quarters. Teetering atop shaky legs and clutching a stitch in her side, Ginny's head swiveled this way and that as she desperately searched the area. She fought hard to keep from crying outright, to ignore the rising panic that could cripple her. But then, just as she feared the worst, she found him.

"HARRY!" She had meant to shout but it came out as a scream, the kind that tears the throat on its way out. A green-eyed boy with round spectacles and tousled black hair turned to look at Ginny, and a smile lit his face.

Willing her aching legs to move again, Ginny rushed to stand before him, almost laughing with lightheaded relief as she bent over, put her hands on her knees, and panted.

"I d-didn't . . . k-know you had l-left . . . I almost didn't m-make it . . ." Ginny continued to catch her breath as she slid a rucksack off her arm and let it drop to the ground. "I-I'm ready. All p-packed."

Harry's smile fell as confusion clouded his gaze. "You mean . . . come with me?" he said. "Ginny, you know that you can't – you're only ten."

Ginny looked up at Harry in horror as a shrill whistle signaled the impending departure of the Hogwarts Express. All around them, students hugged loved ones and hurried to board the train. Ginny's eyes drifted dazedly from one group of people to another as Harry's words sank in. Whereas her breaths had come too quickly the moment before, now she labored to draw a single one.

"I . . . I know that," she said, turning back to Harry with a pleading look. "But . . . I . . . I thought that maybe . . . I mean, you're only a year older than me . . ."

"I'm sorry, Ginny," said Harry, and he looked like he truly meant it. "But it isn't your time to go."

A silence settled between the two children amid the sounds of banging luggage and last-minute goodbyes that filled the platform. Finding that she no longer had the strength to stand, Ginny crumpled to her knees and crushed her eyelids closed as tears streaked free.

"Will . . . will you write?" she whispered.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

Without looking up, Ginny nodded that she understood. "Tell Fred that I m-miss him."

"I will."

Ginny lifted a heavy arm to take Harry's hand, but when her fingers closed around empty air, she opened her eyes to find that he was gone, lost to the swirling clouds of steam that issued from the scarlet locomotive. Panic gave her the power to stand, and she frantically weaved through the throng of people that cheerfully waved at the faces on the train as it lurched forward.

"Harry!" she cried, searching the eyes that watched her from the windows of each compartment for a familiar green pair. "Harry!"

Ginny ran alongside the Hogwarts Express while it pulled out of the station. Only when the train had almost disappeared from sight did she spot Harry standing in the open doorway of the last car. He smiled at her sadly, gave a halfhearted wave, and then . . . he was gone.

"HAAARRRY!"


	2. Chapter 2

_-Why would you even want to do something like that, mate? - Ron asked, absentmindedly juggling a fireball. - Everybody knows magic doesn't exist._

 _AU, obviously. The year's 2034 and the government-funded Hogwarts School for Gifted Youngsters is once again open after the infiltration of the infamous terrorist Sirius Black last year._

-I want to join the occult club. - Harry stated as soon as he got back to the compartment.

-Do we even _have_ an occult club? - A tall, gangly redhead wondered, yawning. He's long since grown accustomed to Harry's outbursts and non-sequiturs and no longer even bothered to overreact.

That was his best friend, Ron Weasley. Harry and Ron bonded over candy and their shared dislike toward the aristocratic blond named Draco Malfoy back in their first year.

-With all the clubs we have, why wouldn't there be an occult one? - Harry shrugged.

-Why would you even want to do something like that, mate? - Ron asked, absentmindedly juggling a fireball. - Everybody knows magic doesn't exist.

-Let me guess, - a bushy-haired girl raised her head from an e-book to make a scathing comment, - Cho's a member.

That was his other best friend, Hermione Granger. The focused, intelligent girl couldn't be more different from the laid-back boy next to her, yet she became just as much of a friend during the first year Halloween Feast, when one of Hagrid's experiments got loose in the castle and almost smashed the three firsties into piles of blood and gore.

-Not that it has anything to do with it, - Harry determinedly did not look in her direction, feeling a treacherous blush spread across his cheeks, - but I _may_ have overheard Miss Chang comment that she was a member of an occult club back in China.

-Meaning you were stalking her again? - Ron didn't bother to hide his smirk.

-I'm not _stalking_ her! - Harry protested vocally. - I just, er, came across her.

-Once -

-Or twice, - Hermione joined in.

-A day -

-All year. - They finished together and burst out laughing.

-Oh, sure, gang up on me. - Harry pouted. - And I didn't meet her at all during summer.

-Only because she went back to China. - Ron snorted. - Otherwise, I'm sure, you would have found a way to, I don't know, blow up your aunt again, and use the Knight Bus to sta, pardon, I mean _pursue_ your tragic love across the country.

-I am _not_ stalking her! - Harry protested once more. - And I've been learning Chinese...

-You've got it bad, mate. - Ron looked at him sympathetically. - Still, better you that me.

It was only last year that Harry discovered that girls are, in fact, not icky at all, but quite attractive and rather fascinating. Ron, the self-named delinquent of the class, despite coming across a similar realization, seemed content to ignore the revelation and proceeded to act in his usual manner. At times like these Harry envied his friend more than anything. After all, Harry himself was reduced to a stuttering mess around attractive girls, and stuttering, as he found out, was not attractive at all. Ron's laid-back attitude, on the other hand, made him seem cool and attracted females like flies. Why, just now, as he was coming back after _totally_ not stalking Cho Chang, he overheard Lavender confide to Parvati how she wanted to corner his redheaded friend and do things to him that made Harry blush.

-Did you at least say 'hello' to the poor girl this time? - Hermione raised an eyebrow.

-I did! - Harry puffed up proudly.

-Does she know it was you? - And just like that he deflated.

That was Harry's Phenomenon – he could turn himself invisible. He could turn others invisible too with little trouble, as he found out when he was exploring the school with Ron after curfew and came across Filch. The ability was well-suited to his curious and somewhat rebellious attitude, allowing him to get into a downright astounding amount of trouble – though it was not quite as helpful in getting out of said trouble.

-So, will you two join me in the club? - A good general knows when to retreat in order to avoid greater losses, such as his dignity. Unfortunately, the twin smirks his friends wore told him that it may be too late for it, though they were gracious in their victory.

-Nah, I don't really fancy it. - Ron shrugged off. - I've already got enough demands on my time.

-Doing what? - Hermione snorted. - Ensnaring more girls with your devil-may-care attitude, that toned physique, windswept red hair and... I think, I'm going to shut up now.

Harry and Ron exchanged looks and shrugged. Girls. Puberty drives them mad.

-So, will you do it? - Harry looked at her hopefully.

Hermione sighed.

-Let's first look if there even _is_ an occult club.

-Why wouldn't there be with all the clubs we have? - Harry repeated his argument.

The Hogwarts School for Gifted Youngsters was a government-funded institution for people with strong and/or useful Phenomenon, created to provide the best possible education and well-suited job opportunities for Britain's youth. Or, as Hermione put it, a way for the government to spy on and indoctrinate their most potent citizens from early on. As a school for the gifted, it put a high emphasis on academic pursuits, strongly discouraging anything that could detract from education. As part of that program, Hogwarts prohibited cellphones and internet could only be accessed in the library under the watchful eye of Irma Pince. The moment you attempted to use it for anything except mail and research you were booted out.

Students, being restless children, used any method available to dispel their boredom. That was the root of their fascination with the flying sport quidditch and a source of an endless number of clubs and student organizations about anything and everything imaginable. At one time Hermione attempted to make a comprehensive list of every club in Hogwarts. It was outdated and obsolete by next week.


End file.
